How to Plan a Star Wars Wedding Ceremony

In a Wedding Far Far Away...

So, you just got engaged. Congratulations! Be sure to relish this moment: facetime your loved ones, pop the nice champagne and post that couple selfie on Instagram with as many heart emojis in the caption as you see fit. This moment is one to cherish; you've found your partner in life... and since you've found yourself on this page, we're guessing you've also found your partner in Star Wars fandom.

Here at AMM, we stan cosplay weddings and all other uniquely nerdy themes. (Any couple that challenges the cookie-cutter Pinterest boilerplate of the rustic barn-theme of mason jar centerpieces and whimsical, loopy calligraphy -- you know the font we're talking about -- are our personal heroes.)

Star Wars is a particularly fun choice. It's so widely known that all your guests will be able to appreciate the references. And seeing your wedding party in costume will have your guests reeling with sentimentality (and slapping their knees) from the beginning of the ceremony onto the dance floor.

If you're feeling intimidated, don't despair. As one legendary pointy-eared Jedi Master once said, "Fear is the path to the dark side." We've compiled some helpful tips and ideas from other couples that created their own Star Wars-themed dream weddings that will help you navigate the journey of planning your own.

The Preliminary To-Do's

1. Hire a Wedding Planner

The first decision to make is whether or not you want to hire a wedding planner. It's up to you, but seeking professional help will save you a lot of time and stress when it comes to organizing and planning your special day.

An experienced wedding planner can really bring your Star Wars vision to life, and prevent it from looking like a cosplay meet up at the convention center. They already have the names of some of the most creative vendors like bakeries, deejays, lighting professionals, photographers and party suppliers in your area in their back pocket. You won't regret the financial investment when you see the outcome.

If you aren't prepared to sink the cost of hiring someone full-time, some wedding planners offer consulting services by the hour, and will help you brainstorm and set you up for success at a fraction of the price. You can find pros in your area on WeddingWire.

2. Narrow in on Your Aesthetic

Now that you've decided you want to go with a Star Wars theme, you need to decide what that means between you and your partner. (Your wedding planner can also help you hone in on this.)

Start by asking yourself some key questions: Do you want to have your wedding party cosplay as the characters? Or would you rather keep it more subtle, by saving theme elements for the decor? Do you want to incorporate music from the score into your ceremony and reception? Or do you want to use more classic wedding songs?

Don't worry about answering all these questions right off the bat -- you'll have time to play around with the details later. But it's good to have an idea of your vision before taking the next steps.

3. Choose a Venue

Before you send out your invites, you'll need to select your venue. Of course, you don't need to fly across the world to have an epic Star Wars-themed celebration, but for the truly dedicated (and truly loaded) couple, check out this list of destination wedding venues, which includes many of the sites used to film. I mean, we'd be remiss not to mention that you can say "I do" in the exact spot that Padmé and Anakin secretly got married in Attack of the Clones in Lake Como, Italy (pictured.)

For those that are trying to keep their wedding budget outside of the astronomical range, take your time looking around and considering the options in your area. Whether you pick and indoor or outdoor venue, you want to find a venue that will be amenable to your vision. So, before you go to any scheduled visits, come up with some questions to ask the property owner. This article from Here Comes the Guide has done most of the hard work for you, and your wedding planner can help you come up with any other important inquiries you'll need addressed.

4. Define Your Color Palette

Let's narrow in further on your particular aesthetic by choosing your color palette. This will set the tone for your event. For a Star Wars theme, rich jewel tones are a perfect choice for your cosmic love story -- and so refreshing in a sea of light pink and ivory themed weddings. This readymade color palette is right on the money; it has a warm yellow that reflects the classic logo of the original movie branding, and deep red, purple and green which are, of course, the colors of our favorite characters' lightsabers.

But if you want to customize your own, Bridestory has a comprehensive guide on how to select your colors here. Once you have four to six colors chosen, you can use your palette as a guide to help pick out the rest of your wedding details, like flowers, lighting, table settings, and your wedding party's attire.

But before we get into any of those fun details, there are is just one more to-do that needs to be checked off first.

5. Designing Your Wedding Invitations

Now that you've chosen your venue and your color palette, you're ready to send out your wedding invitations. These are more than just notifications to your guests of your upcoming nuptials -- they are also a little preview of your wedding and an opportunity to introduce the theme.

One option is to go the traditional route of hiring a professional wedding invitation designer. Your planner will know some reputable stationary designers in your local area that can help you customize your stationary and lettering. This is the most expensive option, but will give you the most control of your results.

Another option is to order a pre-designed invitation, like this one (pictured) from MarryMakings. When you start the ordering process online, you will be prompted to provide your desired text. The designer will implement your changes manually and send you a draft for your review before making you a final digital version. Once you approve it, you will receive a high quality file which you can have printed at your local print shop. This option will cost you less than $10 for the digital file, plus whatever the print shop charges you to produce your desired number of invites.

Or, if you know your way around Adobe inDesign, you can make your own invitations. There are Star Wars fonts available online that are free for non-commercial use. After you download the font, open the .ttf file. Once it's done, you'll see the new font pop up in your regular font lists in your Adobe and Microsoft programs. We will leave the rest of the design to your creativity.

The Wedding Details

Now that you've gotten the preliminary to-do's checked off, it's time to start thinking about the really fun stuff, like costumes and decorations. We have some ideas to help get you started, but we bet your own creativity will end up yielding your favorite details of the day.

One place to start is by checking out what other couples have done to draw inspiration. If you do some googling, you'll find a trove of couples that have pulled together incredible Star Wars themed weddings. This couple was featured in People magazine for their epic rendition -- watch the YouTuber bride's video about her wedding story for some general tips on throwing a Star Wars themed affair.

Star Wars Attire

The Bride & Bridesmaids

If you want to mimic the look of Princess Leia's elegant white dress, which she sports through most of the series, we recommend choosing a minimalist gown with a high boat neck and long sleeves rather than ordering a costume. Here's one from Milamira Bride that fits the bill perfectly. We also love this option from Mimetik, which is more versatile -- it can be wrapped in a variety of different styles so you have some options to play with once you receive it in the mail.

Imagine the bride holding a bouquet of elegant calla lilies in one of these chic gowns. And instead of going for a belt made to look exactly like Leia's -- which may be a bit too utilitarian-looking for your wedding day -- go with a more ornate silver waist belt, like this one.

This style of "infinity dresses" are perfect for the bridesmaids. Their long drape harkens to the general style of the costume design seen on many of the characters in the series -- plus, your bridesmaids will enjoy choosing how they want to wrap the dresses, which are also customizable depending on how you choose to wrap them. These come in jewel tones like deep blue and purple to match your color palette, but of course, do some poking around online and in bridal shops to see if any other options jump out at you.

The hairstyles of the bride and her bridesmaids will help complete your looks. This video shows you Leia's trademark buns, plus Rey and Padmé's unique styles. This second video shows two more ornate Princess Leia hairstyles, which are perfect for the bride. If these seem like more than you can handle, a professional can help you execute these do's, or if you're handy with a comb and want to practice prior to your wedding day to save a few hundred dollars, go for it!

Accessorize with some blingy, cosmic hair pins and crystal rings your bridesmaids will be transformed into a cosmic girl gang. We can already imagine the photos.

The Groom & Groomsmen

If you're feeling too intimidated to go into full-blown costume, you can always go with a classic tux for the groom and groomsmen, which would be a more conservative choice. But if you have an inkling of an itch to get into character, we say, follow your heart. How legit is this Anakin Skywalker getup for the groom? This Star Wars fan from Wisconsin pulled together his own version on his wedding day and looked galactically galant.

Okay, hear us out: Stormtrooper groomsmen. Picture your dudes in full armor appearing at the entryway of the aisle arm-in-arm with each of the lovely bridesmaids as they escort them to the altar. Your guests will be pondering who's behind the helmets for the time-being, but once they make it to the front, they can remove their headgear for some air and reveal their identities. If it seems crazy/expensive to have all of your groomsmen in stormtrooper cosplay, compromise by picking a couple of your best mates to do it and perhaps have the others dressed as Jedi knights.

Ring Bearer and Flower Girls

How about starting off the ceremony procession with cute duo of Princess Leia flower girls? (Photo by Caca Santoro Photography). They could wear these child-sized Leia dresses -- or any white dresses for that matter -- as long as they have the essential double cinnamon buns.

And is there a little tike in your friend/family network that is yoda-sized? If yes, check out this toddler's Yoda costume for a little yoda ring bearer. After the wedding, you will get to call the little volunteer yoda for the rest of his life. Do not miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. (If you have a brave costume make-up savvy friend who is game for a challenge, we are going to leave this more realistic Yoda make-up tutorial here.)

As a final suggestion on attire, if you are having trouble deciding if you want to cosplay or go with classic wedding-wear, consider choosing two outfits: one for the ceremony, and one for the reception. It is not uncommon for a bride to pick one dress for the ceremony and one dress for the reception, so feel free to dress up for the ceremony and dress down for the reception. It's a good compromise.

The Wedding Ceremony

You certainly don't have to make your Star Wars theme a big part of your ceremony -- if you'd like to keep your vows more serious and reverent, you can save all the fun for the reception. But imagine the classic Star Wars theme song booming over the speakers as your troop of Leia flower girls, life-sized yoda and army of stormtroopers parade down the aisle. Your guests will have to resist keeling over while watching each new set of familiar faces appear decked out in costume.

Perhaps save "Across the Stars" (Anakin and Padmé's theme featured in Episode II) for the bride's walk down the aisle, which will create a more romantic, serious tone after your comical entry march of cosplayers.

The officiant's speech during the ceremony is a prime opportunity to incorporate your favorite movie themes and classic quotes, like "The Force runs strong in your family. Pass on what you have learned," and "The Force will be with you. Always." Bustle even compiled a list of Star Wars quotes Perfect for Your Wedding Vows.

If you and your officiant need help writing a script, you can check out our sample ceremony scripts, which can serve as a foundation for you to weave in your favorite themes, add in little jokes, and even skits; (this couple's officiant embodied Darth Vader and it was as hilarious as you would imagine it.) Make it as comical or serious as it suits you, and have fun with it!

Reception Elements

When dreaming up your repection's aesthetic, don't feel like you have to keep all of your decor strictly "Star Wars" themed. Feel free to mix in other decor (using your color palette as a compass) so that the Star Wars pieces you choose really stand out.

The opportunities are limitless, but we really love an astronomy or starry night motif as a starting point. Lighting will be a game-changer for this particular theme. Imagine your gathering of friends and family celebrating your celestial union beneath a canopy of lights made to look like you're in deep space. (This can be achieved in an indoor or outdoor venue.) Check out Bridal Musings' guide to lighting and this starry night wedding guide to get some ideas of what is possible. Then, your wedding planner can help find you find a pro to orchestrate your other-wordly ambiance.

Your table settings are another great place to get creative and really pull the theme together. We love the look of these black sequin table cloths to serve as a backdrop to your centerpieces and cutlery.

As far as centerpieces ideas go: these battery-powered fiber optic LED lamps that you remember from your childhood perfectly set the mood. Or how about these 3D moons, which would really make your reception feel like another dimension? Can't choose between these two? Decorate half of your tables with LED lamps and half with moons. So much better-suited than flowers, and guests can take them home as party favors.

And while we're talking about tables, you could even snag a deck of these beautiful art deco Star Wars playing cards to serve as table labels and some simple card holders to help guests find their seats.

Besides the visual elements, there are some other things to think about when planning the reception. This is a perfect opportunity to set a light-hearted tone to the party with a good skit, if that's your thing! This couple performed a rather suspenseful lightsaber battle before their first dance, which was equal parts absurd and romantic. If you'd rather not worry about memorizing such a performance, ask your wedding party if they feel inspired to arrange their own.

Another idea would be to include a photo booth with Star Wars-themed props for your guests to try on, like lightsabers and Princess Leia headbands for instant cinnamon-bun hair. All of your guests will go home with their own photo memento from the evening.

May the Force Be With Your Wedding

Our final piece of advice is borrowed from Yoda: "Try not! Do or do not, there is no try." We hope that we've inspired you to pursue your Star Wars dream wedding, whether your planning an all-out cosplay bash or a sophisticated, subtle celebration.

If you need some guidance on accomplishing the legal to-do's of your wedding, AMM has you covered there as well. Check out our marriage laws library to find an easy-to-read version of your state's specific marriage laws and learn how to get your officiant of choice legally registered for your special day.